Yoga Day: Uttarakhand govt changes stand will now celebrate event

Dehradun: Withdrawing its decision to stayaway from International Yoga Day celebrations, Uttarakhand government has now decided to officially be a part of the event with Chief Minister Harish Rawat scheduled to inaugurate a state-level yoga workshop here on June 21.

A state-level workshop on yoga will be held at Pavilion Ground in the city on June 21 to mark the occasion where Chief Minister Harish Rawat will be the chief guest, Principal Secretary, Health, Om Prakash said yesterday, adding, state Health Minister Surendra Singh Negi will also be present.

At a press conference here on June 17, Rawat had termed International Yoga Day as a "propagandist exercise" and has said that there will be no official programme here.

"Though not interested in any drum beating about it we will soon come up with a detailed action plan for the promotion of yoga from September onwards," he had said.

Though no reason was officially given for the change in stand, according to officials, it could have been done owing to the earlier decision not going down well with people who feel Uttarakhand has an edge over other states when it comes to efforts for yoga promotion and it should not fritter an opportunity to link it with tourism which is the mainstay of its economy.

Haridwar-based Institutions like Patanjali Yogpeeth, Shantikunj and Devsanskriti Vishwa Vidyalaya have been doing a lot over the years for the promotion of yoga and have grandiose plans to hold yoga sessions on June 21 to mark the event.

A yoga training programme is also underway at the Raj Bhawan here since Tuesday in which secretary to the governor and all other officials and staff of Raj Bhavan are participating voluntarily after office hours in an effort to make the exercise regime a part of their daily lives, a Raj Bhawan release said.

The programme will be held on a larger scale on the lush green Raj Bhavan campus from 6.30 to 7.30 AM on June 21, it said.